Pastor’s PerspectiveIf you follow secular or Christian news, you’ve no doubt heard about Pastor Josh Harris. Many of you will remember Josh for his famous books including one he wrote over 20 years ago called, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye.” He promoted the concept of waiting to date until teenagers were much older.

Josh was a long-term pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, working alongside of Pastor C. J. Mahoney. Josh is famous nationally and internationally for his passion for the Lord and for the pursuit of holiness in daily living for the Lord.

Recently, Josh announced that he was getting a divorce from his wife of over 15 years. That announcement was followed shortly thereafter with a post on his Instagram account that he was renouncing his Christian faith. He said that by all measures he has fallen away from the faith.

As you might imagine, this is rocking the evangelical Christian world, including my own world too. I’ve been wondering how a guy that was rock solid in his faith for decades can simply walk away from something he devoted his life to. As we consider this though, we must realize that he is not the first to walk away from his faith and he certainly won’t be the last. The apostle Paul warned about this writing:

1 Timothy 1:18–19 18 This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, 19 keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.

What causes people to run away from our faith? For some, it is a life struggle, disease or hardship that causes them to recant their faith. For others, they get lured away from the faith by the desires for things of the world and stop pursuing the things of the Lord.

For whatever reason, people have been renouncing their faith since Christ’s time, and we know according to Paul, that this will continue on until Christ returns and sets up His kingdom on earth. Therefore, in the meantime, let’s be sure that we are remaining strong in our commitment to the Lord. If you encounter a crisis, hardship, or have questions about our faith, let’s talk through it. Discuss the matters with your small group. Talk about them with your shepherd or set up a time to come see me and we can talk through the things that you are challenging you.

Let us keep a close watch over our faith, following Paul’s words to his young son Timothy when he wrote 1 Timothy 4:16, “ Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”

Please join me in praying for Josh, his wife Shannon, and their three children. Let’s also devote ourselves to praying for all hit struggle with remaining true to the faith for our whole lives.